EXPLORING THE DEPTHS OF OURSELVES THROUGH CREATIVE PRACTICE

I want to share a personal story. When I paint, I never know what the pieces are about when I'm in process with them. It's not until later, once they're finished, I can stand back and extract meaning and symbology from them. I painted this piece in 2004, about a year after I met my husband. We knew at that time that we were going to be life-partners. After sitting with the completed piece, it became very clear that the orbs (a reoccurring theme in my work) represented our future family. I was the central, prominent energy orb, Robert was the orb above me and our children were there to the upper right. I knew that one was feminine and one was masculine - I could just sense it. I titled the painting "My Family". Fast forward ten years, after years of infertility, I had my legs spread open as my fertility doctor implanted two embryos in my uterus. Their protocol is to have images of the embryos up on a screen while implantation is occurring. I looked up at the embryos and immediately recognized the forms from the painting I had created ten years ago. I was overwhelmed with a sense of peace and waves of knowing that these tiny clusters of cells were my children. This has been the biggest reminder for me that without even being consciously aware of it, we are using the creative process to set intentions and connect with something bigger than we are. It is the breeding ground for what's to come and a powerful soup of possibility and potential.